SHANGHAI – The official state-broadcaster CCTV has reported that at least 330 people have been confirmed dead following the capsizing of a cruise ship on the Yangtze river.
Out of the 456 on board the ship, only 14 have been rescued alive so far. As of 8 a.m. Saturday, the death toll was officially placed at 331, the official Xinhua news agency also confirmed.
Authorities said the capsizing of “Eastern Star” stands to be the worst shipping disaster in China in almost 70 years.
Officials said rescuers no longer expect any new survivors of the capsizing.
Among the rescue effort were more than 3,400 soldiers and 1,700 paramilitary police and 149 vessels, Xinhua said.
MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing, translated as Oriental Star or Eastern Star, was a river cruise ship that operated in the Three Gorges region of inland China.
On 1 June 2015, the ship was traveling on the Yangtze River in Jianli, Hubei Province with more than 450 people on board when it was struck by a tornadic waterspout that was later rated EF1, causing it to capsize. – BusinessNewsAsia.com